New English Republic
New English Republic | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: "Freedom In Unity" | |
 | |
| Capital | Albany |
| Largest | New York City |
| Official languages | English |
| Recognised national languages | French, German |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion |
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| Demonym(s) | New Englander |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Thomas Ryan | |
| Matthew Hill | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Establishment | |
• 1794 | Independence |
• 1797 | Constitution |
| Area | |
• | 446,240.73 km2 (172,294.51 sq mi) (52nd) |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 57,609,148 (26th) |
• Density | 211.59/km2 (548.0/sq mi) (24th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $4.7 trillion (4th) |
• Per capita | $72,809 (5th) |
| Gini | 46.9 high |
| HDI |  0.941very high (10th) |
| Currency | New England dollars (NE$) |
| Time zone | EST |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +70 |
| Internet TLD | .ner |
The New English Republic, commonly known as New England is a country in North America. It is bordered by the United States of America to the south, the Great Lakes to the west, Canada to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. At around 446 thousand square miles (172 square kilometers), it is ranked 52nd by geographic area, with a population of around 57 million, thus making it the twenty sixth most populous country in the world. Its capital is Albany, while its financial center and also its most populous city is New York City.
Originally part of the Thirteen Colonies, a group of colonies established by the British in their colonisation of North America, New England was formed in the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution, when a major disagreement between the region's leaders and the rest of the Thirteen Colonies led to an almost decade long war between the newly formed United States of America and the New English Republic, known as the New English Independence War. On March 5th 1794, its independence was formalised and recognised by the major powers of Europe, aswell as by its close neighbour, the United States, which ratified the Treaty of New York City, thus formalising the new republic's independence.
In the decades that followed, New England experienced consistently rapid growth of its economy, thanks to both its heavily industrialised economy, aswell as its strategic position as a trading hub in North America. Throughout the 19th century, the republic was faced with two particular instances where its independence was deemed to be at stake, namely, the War of 1812, in which the republic fought against the United States as an unofficial British ally, and the American Civil War, in which New England fought alongside the United States against the rebelling Confederacy. At the same time, the republic continued to flourish as a major trade center and industrial power aswell, which led it to be known among many at the time as "the Venice of the North". It later fought in both the First and the Second World War, although throughout much of the Cold War period, the republic remained largely neutral on international issues, despite its proximity to two NATO member states, and its population's predominantly pro-NATO sentiment.
Officially, New England is a unitary parliamentary republic, consisting of a unicameral legislature, a largely ceremonial president, and a prime minister serving as the executive head of the country. It is a founding a member of several organisations, including the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, G7, G20, and the Organization of American States. Like its neighbour, New England also ranks highly in terms of economic freedom, quality of life, education, and human rights, although its slightly high rate of income inequality has been a subject of criticism.
A highly developed country, it is the world's 4th largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (despite being seven times smaller by geographic area in comparison to the United States), and also has the tenth highest human development index in the world, which is also the highest in North America.
Etymology
Upon achieving its independence, the name of the new republic quickly became a matter of intense debate, with some initially proposing a name similar in nature to that of the United States of America, thus hypothetically giving New England the name United States of New England. However, this suggestion was ultimately dismissed by Prime Minister Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom otherwise felt that such a suggestion would "erode New Englanders their sense of independence from their previous American overlords". Eventually, in looking at the then-newly established French Republic as a source of inspiration, both Hawthorne and his ministers then unanimously agreed on the formal name of New English Republic, a name which according to Hawthorne, establishes that the country is "not an alliance of states like the United States, nor is it a monarchy aswell like its former British masters".
History
American Revolution
New England was first established in the form of a political opposition which came to be in the first few years of the American Revolution. The group, led by Brigadier general Nathaniel Hawthorne of the Continental Army, whom along with a number of his close associates, were radical opponents of the long-existing form of slavery which was prevalent in the South. As a result, when it was eventually discovered by Hawthorne and his close allies that the condemnation of slavery was to be crucially removed from the final draft of the United States Declaration of Independence in order to maintain support from the southern states, the group promptly responded to the change in the form of a secret and confidential meeting at the town of Scarsdale, where the group, which now dubbed itself the "Free Society of New England", pledged to form a "new and civil society free to determine its own course from that of any of its previous masters". However, at the same time, the group itself unanimously agreed to temporarily aid Washington and their fellow American revolutionaries against the British, whom by that time were already driven out from most of the Eastern coast, with Hawthorne's militia being a crucial part of the British withdrawal from the region. As a capable military commander, Hawthorne went on to lead his militia in a number of successive battles in the following years, the majority of which took place within the region of New England itself.
With the final British defeat at Yorktown, Virginia, Hawthorne and his allies began to actively consider secession from the newly formed United States, which had in fact been the group's main objective since their closed doors meeting at Scarsdale. Soon enough, throughout the next couple of weeks, Hawthorne and his associates vigorously attempted to convince the leaders of the northernmost states in the country to secede, which they ultimately did so on November 5th 1783 in the form of a declaration formally known as "The Northern Ultimatum". A decade long war soon ensued between the Americans under President Washington and the northern rebels under Hawthorne, whom at the beginning of the conflict was declared "Lord Protector of New England". Meanwhile, throughout much of the conflict, the northerners, now formally known as "New Englanders" were able to mostly repel or fend off any attempts at invasions by the Americans, with their constant successes being attributed to the North being a largely industrialised region of the country, and to the rebels themselves whom collectively make up the majority of the United States's population at the time. Eventually, after almost ten years long, a peace treaty, formally known as the Treaty of New York City was ratified between the two governments, which confirmed the new republic's independence, with its borders including most of the northeastern states and down to the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The United States's capital of Washington D.C. was notably ceded to the New English government, which in turn led to the relocation of a new capital at Charlotte, North Carolina, the current capital of the United States. At the same time, not long after the treaty was ratified, an otherwise confidential treaty was struck between the British and New English governments, whereby the British would also formally recognise the republic's newfound independence, along with providing additional materials for shipbuilding as part of Hawthorne's plan of building a formidable navy, in exchange for lowered tariffs on British imports coming into New England.
The country's form of government was also established, specifically in the form of a parliamentary republic, which Hawthorne, whom had also been informed of the French Revolution which occurred at around the same time, deemed to be the "ideal alternative to American republicanism and British monarchism". Meanwhile, it was notably the first of its kind in the Americas, while otherwise being the second of its kind in history after the French Republic, which was established just a couple of years earlier. The military was also promptly reorganised into a more formal institution, while a War Council was also set up and chaired by Hawthorne himself in anticipation of another attempt at re-subjugation of the republic by the United States.
19th Century
In the following years, New England begin to experience an almost immediate period of rapid economic growth, a feat that was easily achieved, in part due to steady British investment in the country, and also its largely industrialised nature, which allowed it to thereby become one of the earliest beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution. On the other hand, the country remained largely neutral in the Napoleonic Wars conflict which was taking place overseas, with the primary reason being that Hawthorne, whom despite being somewhat sympathetic to the French republican cause, otherwise chose not to provoke a conflict with the British, whom he partially relied on for additional assistance against any potential invasions by the United States, and whom has been the country's biggest foreign investor at the time.
Nevertheless, the country's fragile independence was soon challenged when the United States under President James Madison declared war on Great Britain. Initially, the New English government, now led by Prime Minister Lewis King had immediately declared a state of neutrality soon after the conflict broke out, but this was promptly ignored, thus bringing the country into the British camp in a collective fight against the United States. Once more, the republic was able to largely prevail over their American adversaries, which soon led to a peace treaty being concluded between the Americans and the British-New English coalition, which largely confirmed pre-existing borders between the three countries.
With the end of the war, consistent economic growth soon returned to the country, with further emphasis being placed on both its trading and manufacturing sectors, both of which had been the major contributors to New England's economic growth. Evidently, during the period leading from the end of the war to the beginning of the American Civil War in 1860, New England achieved international fame for its consistently high rate of economic growth, which considerably surpassed that of its American neighbour and the British provinces in Canada to its north.